Early Risers.

[Ozexpatriate]

32 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

I wonder what has had the greatest and longest effect on the French psyche: the appalling slaughter of The Western Front or the defeat and occupation of the Second World War?

Based on @jamie92208's first hand observations it feels like WW1 but I would defer to him.

 

A former colleague was very interested in WW1 cemeteries. He found the French ossuaries* very moving. The very idea that it was more pragmatic to store piles of bones as commemoration, rather than bury whole skeletons in cemetery plots is insightful as a reflection of how horrible it must have been.

 

* Sometimes including the remains of German soldiers as well.

 

Edited June 7, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[Ozexpatriate]

24 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Britain, for example, had had its railway infrastructure pretty badly mauled, but not to the point where it had to be completely rebuilt from the ground up.

I think I know what you are trying to say* but that feels overstated. Doubtless there was a lot of Luftwaffe-inspired repair work - but, being essential, the necessary repairs to keep everything in working order would have taken place - even if things were run down in the end.

 

* I think this is what you mean:

Quote

The railway system suffered heavy damage in some areas due to German Luftwaffe bombing, especially in cities such as London and Coventry. 482 locomotives, 13,314 passenger and 16,132 freight vehicles were damaged. However this damage was not as extensive as it was in many other European countries such as France and Germany. This unwittingly worked to the railways' disadvantage, because in other European countries the damage to their railway systems had been so bad that it gave them an opportunity to essentially re-build their railway systems from scratch, and dramatically modernise them.

 

[monkeysarefun]

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

I don’t think many non-Brits/ANZACs realise (or understand) how deeply the First World War has seared itself into the very fabric of Britain’s consciousness* or how very few families in the UK were unscathed by that conflict.

 

 

 

 

 

On the contrary the ANZAC landings here have been THE major part of the nations consciousness as a "birth of the nation" style event ever since they occurred. ANZAC Day here is probably the one public holiday where the event it commemorates is actually faithfully observed.  The Dawn Service is held each ANZAC Day at 4.30AM, the time of the actual landings (ignoring time zones!) and an increasingly  huge percentage of the population still gets up each year well before then in order to get to the local service.

 

Australia's WW1 force was made up entirely of volunteers, going off to fight a war which was half a world away and of no immediate consequence to us, thus once the terrible toll that trench fighting was taking on the troops became apparent the efforts to get yet more able-bodied men to volunteer to go and fight that distant irrelevant war had to  appeal to their sense of wanting to help out others, to not abandon those who had already gone over. From this Australias "mateship" was born, in its good and less good forms - the  idea that you don't let your mates down no matter what, which in its noblest form has fuelled the huge volunteer organisations here such as the SES and the Bush Fire brigades, some of the  largest volunteer organisations in the  world. Those who serve in them can be asked travel thousands of km  around the country for weeks at a time, leaving family and jobs, without getting paid and in many instances funding their own travel and expenses. The "ANZAC spirit" is still given as the reason that most Australians are willing to help out so generously.

 

 

Edited June 7, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[Ozexpatriate]

1 minute ago, monkeysarefun said:

From this Australias "mateship" was born, in its good and less good forms - the idea that you don't let your mates down no matter what

I think Aussie "mateship" existed long before the ANZACs - though it has been mythologized as so and they certainly exhibited it. It likely goes back to common bonds in the early colonial / penal times where to survive in a harsh environment you depended on your mates to get through.

 

It is different from the US where "self-reliance" is more highly prized (culturally speaking).

[monkeysarefun]

13 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I think Aussie "mateship" existed long before the ANZACs - though it has been mythologized as so and they certainly exhibited it. It likely goes back to common bonds in the early colonial / penal times where to survive in a harsh environment you depended on your mates to get through.

 

It is different from the US where "self-reliance" is more highly prized (culturally speaking).

 

 

 

Its interesting to see how the US which has a broadly similar pioneering heritage went one way with its  focus on individualism (which in it worst form is the  "my Rights Come First!" cry of the COVID lockdowns)  while  Australia was born on the  concept of mateship ( which in its worst form is the protection of those who perform awful acts because you dont dob in your mates). 

 

 

Edited June 7, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[iL Dottore]

23 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

On the contrary the ANZAC landings here have been THE major part of the nations consciousness as a "birth of the nation" style event ever since they occurred.

 

 

Which is basically what I meant. The asterisk was to a footnote saying “and former Empire Countries” i.e. Australia and New Zealand 

 

Although  wrote “non-Brits/ANZACS” it was intended to be read as “non-British OR non-ANZAC” I could have been clearer.

 

I am very much aware of the importance of WWI to both Australia and New Zealand

Edited June 7, 2023 by iL Dottore

[polybear]

1 hour ago, PupCam said:

Before we set off I thought I'd have a go with the new "GP Online Appointment" booking service.      The first step you need to discover is that what you don't do is use the normal website that you have used for such purposes in the past (and still have to use for medication, records etc etc).   No, no, no!    You have to use a completely different website the existence of which and the address of which has not been communicated to you so that you have to scratch around using Google to first discover the need and existence of it and then its address.     When you eventually work this out you then have to fill in a triaging form (the existence of which was indicated by the receptionist) which may in 3-5 days time result I believe in a link to some form of appointment selection facility being forwarded and then maybe if you are very, very lucky indeed the ability to actually reserve an appointment that suits**

 

The thing that worries this Bear about such on-line booking systems is the loss of (hopefully) a Medical Receptionist in the loop who's been briefed with enough basic info to ring alarm bells - for example:

 

"Hello, Bear here - can I have an appointment please?"

"Hello Bear - can I ask what the problem is?"

"I've gone right off Cake - all Cake, even LDC.  Just the sight of it makes me wanna Chuck - but other food is fine though"

"Hmmm" thinks Checkpoint Charlene - "My little checklist suggests that's real serious and any Bear with such symptoms should be down here asap".

So.....

"No problem Mr. Bear - in 30 minutes OK for you?"

 

In other news.....

When will Bear learn that using large (OK, 10mm) twist drills clutched in a paw to deburr a hole works well but often results in cut paws?  Now if only I'd got one of those deburring tools (basically a countersink mounted in a handle intended for such tasks) I'd be OK.  Hang on, I have got one - it's in the red toolbox, top tray where it always is - not 15ft away from where Bear is working.

But the set of HSS Drill Bits I'm using is 2ft away....

Which is why Bear has got cut paws.....again.

Turdycurses.

Anyone else recognise that story?

[pH]

The first wildfire smoke of the year has arrived. I don’t know where it’s coming from - there are many fires burning in BC, including the second-largest ever in the province.

[monkeysarefun]

7 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

 

 

Although  wrote “non-Brits/ANZACS” it was intended to be read as “non-British OR non-ANZAC” I could have been clearer.

 

 

 

I did initially take it that you were  lumping ANZACS in with non-Brits!  Once I'd posted I did have a realisation that you intended the opposite and edited my post to remove the "on the contrary" bit but it just hung when I tried to save it. 

 

I am therefore on the record as disagreeing with you so its lucky that  its 2021 not 1821 because back then you'd probably  be demanding satisfaction and your seconds would be calling on my seconds.

[Ozexpatriate]

14 minutes ago, pH said:

The first wildfire smoke of the year has arrived. I don’t know where it’s coming from - there are many fires burning in BC, including the second-largest ever in the province.

Happily here it is still 'good' though we hit 'moderate' yesterday. We have had some small wildfires. So far, so good, but it has been three weeks with no rain, and summer-like temperatures which is very unusual for May/June.

 

New York had some of the worst air quality in the world yesterday. Some Broadway shows were cancelled because the air quality was hard on the performers. The northeast of North America is bad. Projections look bad for Toronto / Ottawa too.

 

EDIT:

The Halema‘uma‘u crater in Kīlauea just started erupting again as well. This hellscape is magnificent. There's a nice video on the launch page too with multiple fountains.

 

Edited June 7, 2023 by Ozexpatriate
Kīlauea

[Ozexpatriate]

2 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

you'd probably  be demanding satisfaction and your seconds would be calling on my seconds

Handbags at dawn then? 😉

[monkeysarefun]

10 minutes ago, polybear said:

The thing that worries this Bear about such on-line booking systems is the loss of (hopefully) a Medical Receptionist in the loop who's been briefed with enough basic info to ring alarm bells - for example:

 

 

 

Theres been online booking here since pre-COVID, no medical receptionists have been harmed as a result. Here at least though they do actually answer the phone, usually with a "WoopWoop Medical Centre - please hold!" then you get an earful of tinny music for about 30 seconds but they do come back to you.

 

Here also its a bit different in that you aren't tied to seeing one GP so the online booking process will list all GP's in the particular area you are interested in and when their closest appointments are. There's also a brief biog of each doctor in the  practice along with their qualifications and interests so if you have say a bum issue, you can choose one who likes bum doctoring. 

[polybear]

14 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Handbags at dawn then? 😉

 

@iL Dottore's Handbag is kinda busy lately.....

 

[AndyID]

26 minutes ago, pH said:

The first wildfire smoke of the year has arrived. I don’t know where it’s coming from - there are many fires burning in BC, including the second-largest ever in the province.

 

Seems to be really bad in NE US and Canada at the moment. Meanwhile there's a flood-watch here starting tomorrow AM.

[Ozexpatriate]

Just now, AndyID said:

there's a flood-watch here starting tomorrow AM

Rapid snow melt?

 

The road to the Mount St. Helens visitor's observatory was taken out by flood/mudslide a few weeks ago after rapid snowmelt in all the unseasonable heat we've had.

 

Edited June 7, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[TheQ]

I don't think I've ever seen the same doctor twice at our practice.

 

Now I wonder what's concealed inside the handbag, LDC? pork pie?, Treacle tart? Or marmalade sandwich. 

 

One of my tasks tomorrow is to widen two 8 mm holes to 12mm, I'll try to avoid sore paws..

[AndyID]

Just now, Ozexpatriate said:

Rapid snow melt?

 

Chain of thunderstorms.

[AndyID]

1 minute ago, TheQ said:

One of my tasks tomorrow is to widen two 8 mm holes to 12mm, I'll try to avoid sore paws..

 

Tapered reamer works if it's in thin metal. Might need a drill-press for wood.

[Dave Hunt]

On March 12 I rang my GP practice because my sciatica has got much worse and is often debilitating until well into the afternoon as well as my lower back giving much trouble. I managed to speak to a locum on March 17 who decided that I need to see a musculoskeletal consultant and said he would refer me to the hospital I requested. By 21 May I had heard nothing so I rang the GP practice again and after nearly an hour managed to speak to a receptionist who said that I would have to ring a referral booking centre and gave me a phone number. I also asked her for a GP appointment to discuss pain control and the best she could offer was a telephone call on June 13, which I took. I rang the referral booking centre over fifty times but simply got a recorded message saying, "This system is busy, please try again later." I therefore emailed them and received a reply the same day to say that it was not a matter for their attention but I needed to speak to the musculoskeletal referral centre instead. That I was given this incorrect information by the GP practice receptionist is, I think, indicative of the incompetence/indifference they seem nowadays to display. After more fruitless attempts at a phone call I then emailed the musculoskeletal referral centre and after two days received a reply to say that they had my GP's request for a routine appointment and when one became available they would contact me. No thought of acknowledging the referral or anything resembling patient care. I will therefore get to speak to a GP again next Tuesday after over three weeks wait and will let him or her know how I regard the treatment I am (not) receiving. At this rate I can see me biting the bullet and ringing the hospital directly to try for a private consultation, which I suppose is what they actually want.  

 

Dave

[jamie92208]

6 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

Have you considered dumping XP and running Linux? I have an old PC running Linux that I use as a file server. Works very well too.

As to the latest version of excel, try Libre Office it can read and output most formats

2 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I recall a programme recounting black wreaths hung on essentially every door in neighbourhoods where regiments recruited there were sent over the top on the first day of the Somme.

IIRC one of the big problems on the first day of the Somme was that it was the first major battle where Kitchener s volunteer army was used thus the Pals battalions of which my uncle was in one.  There hadn't been the time or expertise to train them all properly in Infantry tactics. Many of the battalions had been doing things like guarding the Suez canal.  Thus the only way to control them was to have them walk at a fixed pace. Many of the Pals battalions took an awful losses and the system was never used again. 

 

As to the comment about France, the losses were staggering.  The number of names on war memorials is usually double what you would expect to see in the UK and in many villages, such as ours that is just the ones with no known grave.  There are 4 brothers amongst the 20 or so from Saleignes, 2 on the memorial and two in the cemetery.

 

Jamie. 

[woodenhead]

GP access has not recovered since covid, all requests go via online portals, receptionists will turn you away if you simply present yourself.  You are no longer guaranteed to see a GP; there is a sliding scale of pharmacist, nurse, nurse specialist, doctor by phone, doctor by webcam and finally doctor face to face.

 

All snuck in under the cover of Covid.

[Compound2632]

11 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

All snuck in under the cover of Covid.

 

So what would you say is the root cause?

[PhilJ W]

 

2 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Based on @jamie92208's first hand observations it feels like WW1 but I would defer to him.

 

A former colleague was very interested in WW1 cemeteries. He found the French ossuaries* very moving. The very idea that it was more pragmatic to store piles of bones as commemoration, rather than bury whole skeletons in cemetery plots is insightful as a reflection of how horrible it must have been.

 

* Sometimes including the remains of German soldiers as well.

 

The German practice was as many as twenty bodies to a grave, but meticulous records were kept wherever possible*. That included British and other Allied dead. A few years ago in one of these sites were found the remains of British and Australian soldiers.

*Many records were lost in WW2.

Talking of the casualties of the two world wars no apparent mention has been made of the far east or indeed of Asia. In WW1 India supplied men for the labour battalions (as did the West Indies) but no mention has been made of their casualties. Since few were sent near the front lines the casualties would have been lower. It would be interesting to see the far eastern casualties during WW2. This may be complicated by the fact that the Japanese invaded Manchuria prior to the start of WW2. Its a not very well known fact that the XIVth army was mostly formed from Indian Army units who displayed exceptional bravery.

Edited June 7, 2023 by PhilJ W

[skipepsi]

5 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

So what would you say is the root cause?

Shortage of humans willing to be GPs on the terms and conditions offered by the government of the day allied to a failure to train more doctors and an expanding population?

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Took a bit of eyelid inspection earlier only to wake up with sciatica going full blast, suitable pills have been taken. Now to catch up on the rest of RMweb.